Curtain-stretcher.



No. 826,378. PATENTED JULY 17, 1906.

H. E. SOUT ORTH. CURTAIN BTGHER. APPLICATION FILED JULYBI 1 E NORRISPETERS CO WASHINGTON D f Alfamey UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY E. SOUTHWORTH, OF COLOHESTER, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR TO PORTER SCREENMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BURLINGTON,

VERMONT.

CU RTAIN-STRETCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 17, 1906.

Application filed July 31,1905. Serial No. 272,139.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. SOUTH- wonrn, of Golchester, in the countyof Chittenden and State of Vermont, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Curtain- Stretchers, of which tne following is a specification.

My invention has to do with the bars of a curtain-stretcher frame andthe fabric-hold ing pins mounted therein, the object being to produce acheap, efficient, and convenientlyarranged construction wherein the pinswill be held securely in place and be supported against strain, while atthe same time they may be readily manipulated and adjustedlongitudinally of the bar in which they are mounted.

Under my invention the curtain-stretcher bar has in and lengthwise ofits body a slot substantially A sha ed in cross section formed by twoslots which enter the bar from one of its faces (preferably its upperface) and diverge from each other as they pass from the entering-pointinto the body of the bar, and the fabric-holding pins are provided withbases of corresponding cross-section to enter and fit in said slot,through the open apex of which the shanks of the pins protrude.

The invention will first be described in connection with the drawingsaccompanying and forming part of this specification and will then bemore particularly pointed out in the claims.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of a side bar of acurtain-stretcher frame embodying my invention in its preferred form.Fig. 2 is a cross-section of a bar hav ing a modified form ofretaining-slot. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred form ofpin.

The barA (made of any approved material) has that portion of its upperface adjoining the inner edge beveled, as at a, this beveled or inclinedface forming a surface on which the shanks b of the pins b may rest. Inrear of this beveled face a are two longitudinal slots which enter thebar from the upper face thereof at an angle to each other and divergefrom one another as they pass down from the entering-point into the bodyof the bar, thus forming, in effect, a continuous slot 0 ofsubstantially A shape in cross-section, the acutencss of the apex of theslot being determined,

of course, by the angle at whichthe slots enter the bar relatively toone another and to the distance which may separate them at theenteringpoint.

The pins 1) have bases of corresponding A form in cross-section to fitand move lengthwise in the A-slot c, the shanks of the pins projectingthrough the open apex of the slot and extending upon the inclined face aof the bar. It is this combination of a A-slotted curtain-stretcher barwith pins having correspondingly A-shaped bases to fit and movelengthwise of the A- slot in the bar that mainly characterizes myinvention. The pins are thereby held at all times most securely inplace. They can be adjusted lengthwise of the bar with great facility,while at the same time whenever the strain on the attached curtain comesupon them they are thereby clamped, as it were, in place and practicallylocked against misplacement or accidental lengthwise movement. The onlydifference between the structures in Figs. 1 and 2 is that in the formerthe slot is less acute angled than it is in the latter. Manifestly thisangle may vary without departure from the invention.

The form of pin which I prefer to employ is illustrated in Fig. 3. It ismade of wire in one continuous piece and is what may be called a doublepinthat is to say, each end of the Wire is bent to form a in I) and thatportion of the wire between t e shanks b of these two pins is bent toform a A shaped base a adapted to fit and slide in the A-slot c in thebar.

Having described my invention and the best way now known to me ofcarrying the same into practical effect, I state in conclusion that I donot limit myself strictly to the structural details hereinbefore setforth in illustration of the invention, for manifestly the same can bevaried to some extent without departure from the spirit of theinvention; but

What I claim herein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A curtain-stretcher bar having in and lengthwise of it a slot ofsubstantially A cross-section with its apex opening on one of the facesof the bar, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore setforth.

2. A curtain-stretcher bar having that portion of its upper face whichadjoins its inner edge beveled, and also having formed in and lengthwiseof it a slot of A shape in crosssection the open apeX of which is alongthe rear edge of the beveled portion of the bar, substantially as andfor the purposes herein before set forth.

3. A pin for curtain-stretcher bars consisting of a pin proper and a suporting-base of A shape in cross-section to W iich the shank of the pinis secured, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore setforth.

4. A curtain-stretcher bar having in and lengthwise of its body a slotof substantially A shape in cross-section, formed by two slots whichenter the bar from one of its faces and diverge from each other as theypass from the entering-point into the body of the bar,

and retaining-pins having bases of corresponding shape in cross-sectionto enter and fit in said A-slot, substantially as and for the purposeshereinbefore set forth.

5. A double pin formed of a single piece of wire having its oppositeends bent each to form a pin b and pin-shank, and that portion of itintervening between the pin-shanks bent to form a base A-shaped incross-secti0n, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY E. SOUTHWORTH.

/Vitnesses:

WLI. JoNEs, J. O. PICI-IE.

